Wednesday, February 2, 2011

DIY Wednesday: Seriously Cheap Floor Rug!

Hi Everyone!

As you know, we've moved and are in the process of decorating a very large house. Our previous home had all carpeted floors and our new home's very large bedroom is all hard surface. (Not really hardwood per se...looks like the subfloor I had on my floor in my old home)

Not only can it be cold, and the unfinished floor can pinch your toes, but the hard surface means that every time our large German Shorthair Pointer jumps out of bed it's loud and not only wakes us, the other two dogs but has been known to wake the baby.


Our bed with our new carpet rug!

So, since we rent, carpeting isn't really an option. But a rug is. However, we have a king size bed. A rug that would fit under the bed (which is approximately 6 feet by 7 feet) and still be big enough to muffle the sound of a dog falling out of bed would be quite expensive. Like around $300 expensive...for a lame boring not soft one.

I've googled "cheap rug" at least a hundred times trying to find a solution. Over and over, carpet remnants would come up but usually websites would say that it wasn't a great idea and it would unravel. You'd have to get it bound to prevent that and it would be expensive.

Well....bounding is easy enough. Get a remnant and save a load of money!

Step One: Go get a remnant.



"Before" Image. Hard floor.


I went to my local Lowes and found a nice looking remnant. It was 5 feet wide and 12 feet long. An odd measurement, but I decided I'd work with it for $47.00. I then cut it in half with a utility knife. A great way to get a straight line is a chalk line. Just use a utility knife along the chalk line. My dad discovered this while installing carpet in my old house. I cut mine pretty odd (in a U shape) under the bed so I wouldn't waste rug that wouldn't be used. So my rug actually ended up looking like it was around 10 feet by 10 feet. My rug didn't have an attached pad, but still was plush. If you could manage one with pad, I think you're rug would be even more comfortable.

After purchasing my remnant, I got my binding supplies: some grosgrain wide ribbon in a matching color and hot glue sticks. (I use grosgrain because it doesn't show hot glue as easy) Those purchases cost about $5.00

Therefore, I ended up with a rug that was 6 feet by 10 feet (but looked like it was 10 feet by 10 feet) for $52.00. That's right $52.00!!!

Step Two: Leave it or Bind it

Now, you can leave the rug without binding, especially if you're not going to use the rug for a long time. Or you can bind it.


Unfinished Edge

First, start by working around the edges and hot gluing the ribbon to the carpet. I found the easiest way to do this is to first glue the ribbon to the back of the remnant. This allows two things: the ribbon to look even on the front and allows you more control on the front.

Of course, you need to work in small segments since the glue dries quickly.


Working my way around the edge of the remnant.

You will probably find that the process gets easier the longer you do it, therefore, I'd start on a section that will be hidden if you can. The main issue you want to watch is keeping the ribbon even on the front. You can also choose to put less ribbon on the front for a different more polished look. I wanted to make sure I got all the loose fibers got caught so I went a bit wide.



Finished Binding


"After" Picture (with my lovely German Shorthair Pointer, Cash, modeling the bed)

Now, that looks much better! Now I just have to 1) Make a headboard 2) Make a duvet cover and 3) Paint my night stands...then just half of the bedroom will be done!
I'm tired thinking about it!


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3 comments

Cindy said...

How did you bind the top and if you could show a picture I've read numerous Google quotes and have next to nothing for money and yours was the only one that made sense and what did you use for your binding thank you sooooo very much

TheDabblingCrafter said...

Hi Cindy!

I used extra wide grosgrain ribbon just like blanket binding ie half of the ribbon was on the bottom and half was on top (the ribbon was folded "hot dog" style). Then I used a ton of hot glue to secure it. It worked really well the entire time we needed which was over 4 years. hope that helps! -Krista

HopeO said...

Such a nice bed it is. Well If you are looking for something cost-friendly and comfortable you can check out some of the best camp bed over here. The beds are durable and have great temperature-controlling features.

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